John Laurinaitis lawyer: WWE knew about Ashley Massaro rape claim

The lawyer representing John Laurinaitis says WWE management was aware of allegations made by Ashley Massaro despite what the company claimed. 

In an affidavit released by her lawyer the day after her death in 2019, Massaro alleges she was drugged and raped by someone representing themselves as a U.S Army doctor. The alleged assault took place in 2007 while Massaro was doing a public relations tour of military bases in Kuwait. 

Massaro’s affidavit also says that Vince McMahon and Laurinaitis told her not to talk about the incident in order to help preserve WWE’s relationship with the U.S. military. 

“(McMahon) told me not to let one bad experience ruin the good work they were doing,” she said in the affidavit.

WWE released a statement a few days after the affidavit was released stating they were never informed of the alleged assault and that if they had been, they would have “reported it immediately to the Base Commander.”

However, Edward Brennan, the lawyer representing Laurinaitis, recently spoke to Vice regarding the matter. He says that WWE management was aware of Massaro’s claims, although he objected to calling the situation a “cover-up.” 

“Any allegations that Mr. Laurinaitis helped to cover up an alleged rape allegation is an outright lie,” Brennan wrote to Vice. “Johnny, like most upper level management at sometime became aware of the allegations and ensured all proper WWE protocols were followed, including privacy for the alleged victim. We object to the use of the term cover up as no such plan or plot ever took place to hide or assist in the alleged rape.” 

An investigation into Massaro’s claims was made by The Naval Criminal Intelligence Service in June 2019 and closed in January 2020. The findings have not been made public. 

Massaro passed away on May 16, 2019, at the age of 39. Her death was covered in the May 2017, 2019 edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Our own Dave Meltzer wrote of her passing: 

Massaro, who had battled depression for years, was 39. In a 2017 affidavit when being party to a lawsuit against the company, she claimed she was raped and sodomized while doing a public relations tour of military bases while working for WWE in 2007, which she was told to keep quiet about, a charge WWE has denied in the past and did again this past week.

Depression is a much larger issue in society than most truly understand. For a number of reasons, it is very strong in pro wrestling, as well as other forms of entertainment, due to the extreme highs involved in performing and fleeting nature of fame and the pressure on performing.